OKEANA, Ohio – The Butler County Fair was considering dropping the dairy portion of the county fair because there were not enough entries. Emily Mullen, owner-operator of Mullen Dairy & Creamery, decided to do something about that. She created a nonprofit program where kids, at no charge, show one of her dairy calves at the fair.

For that, and other reasons, Bev Foutz nominated her for the America 250 program, Our American Story. That’s a project where someone can nominate someone whose story needs to be preserved. Foutz’s nomination of Mullen was accepted. As a result, Mullen’s story may be preserved in the Library of Congress.

Mullen grew up on a dairy farm. Her parents, Tim and Amy, had four daughters. That was the end of the dairy farm, Tim thought. Then in college, Emily stepped up to the plate and said she wanted to keep the dairy going.

Butler County has gone from having many dairy farms to just a couple. So, Mullen knew if she was going to keep the farm in business, she had to get creative. As a start, she and her mom began making and selling cow’s milk soaps and lotions.

She opened a creamery, offering flavored milks. She wrote grants and got the money to build a state-of-the-art dairy barn. When construction was finished, she began offering events like yoga with the cows, read a calf a story, Christmas with the Cows, and more. Her goal, besides keeping the dairy farm going, had always been to educate the public about agriculture.

Then she heard that the Butler County Fair was considering shutting down the dairy portion of the fair due to a lack of participants. So, she launched a non-profit called the Hands, Hooves, and Hearts program. It’s a 4-H group. About 25 to 30 kids take part every year. They sign a contract agreeing to come to the farm at least three days a week to care for a calf.

“They draw straws, and they each get a random calf that they get to exhibit at the county fair,” she explained. “I do not charge for this at all. I am responsible for feeding and raising the animals. These are going to be my replacement heifers, so it doesn’t make sense for me to charge them. I am going to raise these animals one way or another.”

Come fair time, Mullen takes the cows to the fair, and the kids get the opportunity to showcase what they have been doing all summer.

“It is a lot of fun,” Mullen said. “It really increased the number of dairy animals at the Butler County Fair; they were considering shutting down the program three years ago because of a lack of participation.

“We were able to open up our barn doors to the public and give some kids the opportunity to come and hang out and see what American agriculture has to offer,” Mullen said.

Mullen also considers the nostalgia and the fun of showing at the county fair important. Many of these kids have no farm connection at all except for Hands, Hooves, and Hearts. Through this, they develop relationships with each other and the rest of the agriculture industry. They see the many kinds of career opportunities agriculture has to offer.

Mullen’s contract said that the kids are responsible for coming to the farm and working with their animals three times a week between April and July. But many of them come year-round because they like being on the farm. Some help with farm chores.

“If they choose, they get to see every side that this industry has to offer and really what it takes to put a glass of milk on the table,” Mullen said. “My goal is that my barn is a home away from home for these kids.”

Enter Foutz, who saw a notice put out by the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission in the Grange Magazine. They were looking for unsung heroes who had done something for their community and who people thought deserved some recognition. Foutz thought that Mullen deserved some recognition, so she filled out the paperwork and sent it in.

“Out of four sisters, Emily was the only one interested in keeping the dairy business going, but now she has drawn in her sisters,” Foutz said. “They work in the store and with the flavors of the different kinds of milk.

“It is an interesting business, and she has put the local flair to it because she has children come there not only for tours, but she has things like Yoga with the Cows, or hunting Easter eggs with the cows,” Foutz said. “She has made it a local thing so people come to the farm and learn about agriculture, about dairy, and knowing where their food comes from.”

The America 250 American Story Program is facilitated by trained interviewers. Sessions follow curated storytelling prompts centered around themes of identity, service, community and personal legacy. Conversations are recorded and archived, and a portion will be preserved at the Library of Congress, ensuring these voices become a permanent part of the American record.